There's nothing about Acharya Balkrishna's appearance that signals Chief Executive Officer. But his lungi and kurta are apt attire for the top boss of an empire with its roots in yoga. As the head of the Patanjali Group, which started in 1995 in Haridwar as Divya Pharmacy of Ayurvedic products, Balkrishna has just entered the Forbes India rich list; his personal worth was pegged at Rs. 25,000 crores. Patanjali, which started out with a loan of Rs. 50 crores, has a projected turnover of Rs. 10,000 crores for the coming year, but Balkrishna says he is not paid a salary. He could do without it - he owns 97 per cent of the ayurveda empire.
